DDwiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Dracul

2013-03-07T16:47:26Z

Sidestepper:

I don't understand the removal of gender from Dracul. Dracul is identified as being male right from his introduction. The hover text over his Worship button is "Follow Dracul the Undying 'He hates all of you your lives will end miserably'- Recruitment Flyer, The Cult of Dracul"

-Sidestepper

Monsters

2013-02-09T22:22:47Z

Sidestepper:

{{Alphapage|Alpha:Monsters}}{{Stub}}

There are many different monster types you will encounter throughout Desktop Dungeons. They have a range of abilities and stats, and each present a unique difficulty to the player. There are two formulas to determine the base stats for every monster. For hp, you use (n+3)²+10, where n is the monsters level, and for attack you use (n*(n+5))/2, where n is the monsters level. Monsters also have an attack and hp percent value. That indicates what percent of the base number provided below they have. For example, Bandits have 100% hp and 66% attack. Therefore a level 3 Bandit would do 8 damage and have 26 hp.
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
!Level
!Base Attack
!Base Health
|-
| 1 || 3 || 6
|-
| 2 || 7 || 15
|-
| 3 || 12 || 26
|-
| 4 || 18 || 39
|-
| 5 || 25 || 54
|-
| 6 || 33 || 71
|-
| 7 || 42 || 90
|-
| 8 || 52 || 111
|-
| 9 || 63 || 134
|-
| 10 || 75 || 159
|}

What kind of dungeon you are in also affects monster stats. Monsters in easy dungeons have 90% of way they would normally have, monsters in Normal dungeons have their normal stats, monsters in hard dungeons have 120% of what they would normally have, and monsters in vicious dungeons have 133% of what they would normally have.

Distribution 
Not counting bosses and special uniques, each dungeon contains 38 monsters, with the following level distribution
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
!Level
!Number
|-
| 1st || 10
|-
| 2nd || 5
|-
| 3rd || 4
|-
| 4th || 4
|-
| 5th || 4
|-
| 6th || 3
|-
| 7th || 3
|-
| 8th || 3
|-
| 9th || 2
|} 
Or, in graphic form: 
[[File:MonsterRoster.jpg]]

== List of Monsters ==

See [[Traits#Monster traits|Traits]] for a full list of traits and what they do. Also see the list of [[Full:Bosses|bosses]].

===Basic Monsters===
Common monsters found in just about any dungeon.
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class="sortable"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
! Name
! Attack
! Health
! Traits
! Location
|-
|{{m | Bandit}}
|70%
|100%
|{{t| Cursed}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Dragon Spawn}}
|100%
|125%
|{{t| Magical Attack}}
|Any
|-
||{{m | Goat}}
|100%
|90%
|{{t| Magic resist}} 25%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Goblin}}
|120%
|100%
|{{t| First Strike}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Golem}}
|100%
|100%
|{{t| Magic resist}} 50%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Goo Blob}}
|100%
|100%
|{{t| Physical resist}} 50%
|Any
|-
||{{m | Gorgon (Monster)}}
|100%
|90%
|{{t| First Strike}}, {{t|Death-gaze}} 50%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Meat Man}}
|65%
|200%
|
|Any
|-
|{{m | Serpent}}
|100%
|100%
|{{t| Poisonous}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Warlock}}
|135%
|100%
|{{t| Magical Attack}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Wraith}}
|100%
|75%
|{{t| Undead}}, {{t| Mana Burn}}, {{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t| Physical resist}} 30%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Zombie}}
|100%
|150%
|{{t| Undead}}
|Any
|}

===Advanced Monsters===
Stronger monsters found as you venture further outside the kingdom. This list does not include any variety of Plant.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class="sortable"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
! Image
! Name
! Attack
! Health
! Traits
! Boss
! Location
|-
|[[File:Acid_Blob.png|center]]
|[[Acid Blob]]
|
|
|{{t| Corrosive}}, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|Naga City, The Slime Pits
|-
|[[File:Animated_Armor.png|center]]
|[[Animated Armor]]
|
|
|{{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t| Death Protection}} (1 layer per level)
|
|Halls of Steel, Cursed Oasis
|-
|[[File:Berserker.png|center]]
|[[Berserker (Monster)|Berserker]]
|
|
|{{t| Berserks}} 50%
|
|Berserker Camp, Wizard Bronze
|-
|[[File:Burn_Viper.png|center]]
|[[Burn Viper]]
|
|
|{{t| Mana Burn}}, {{t| Blinks}}
|
|Berserker Camp, Naga City, Namtar's Lair
|-
|[[File:Blood_Snake.png|center]]
|[[Blood Snake]]
|
|
|{{t| Spawns}}, {{t| Poisonous}}
|
|Bloodmage Bronze
|
|-
|[[File:Cave_Snake.png|center]]
|[[Cave Snake]]
|
|
|{{t| Poisonous}}, {{t | Spawns}}
|
|Magma Mines
|-
|[[File:Changeling.png|center]]
|[[Changeling]]
|
|
|Varies by class
|
|Shifting Passages
|-
|[[File:Cultist.png|center]]
|[[Cultist]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Revives}} (into Zombie)
|
|
|-
|[[File:Desert_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Desert Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Fast regen}}
|
|Northern Desert
|-
|[[File:Djinn.png|center]]
|[[Djinn]]
|
|
|{{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}
|
|
|-
|[[File:Doom_Armor.png|center]]
|[[Doom Armor]]
|
|
|{{t| Berserks}} 50%, {{t| Death Protection}} (1 layer per level)
|
|Demonic Library
|-
|[[File:Druid.png|center]]
|[[Druid]]
|
|
|{{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t| Death Protection}}
|
|Havendale Bridge, Dragon Isle, Western Jungle (Boss only)
|-
|[[File:Forest_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Forest Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Fast regen}}, {{t| Magic resist}} 25%
|
|Dragon Isle
|-
|[[File:Frozen_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Frozen Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Physical resist}} 50%, {{t| Magic resist}} 50%, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|
|-

|[[File:Gelatinous_Thing.png]]
|[[Gelatinous Thing]]
|
|
|{{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}
|
|The Slime Pit
|-
|[[File:Imp.png|center]]
|[[Imp]]
|
|
|{{t| Blinks}}
|
|Demonic Library
|-
|[[File:Illusion.png|center]]
|[[Illusion]]
|
|
|{{t| Physical resist}} 50%, {{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}, {{t| Weakening blow}}
|
|Halls of Steel
|-
|[[File:Minotaur.png|center]]
|[[Minotaur]]
|
|
|{{t| Knockback}} 50%, {{t| Berserks}} 50%
|
|Magma Mines, Shifting Passages, The Labyrinth (Boss only)
|-
|[[File:Muck_Walker.png|center]]
|[[Muck Walker]]
|
|
|{{t| Undead}}, {{t| Weakening blow}}
|
|The Slime Pit
|-
|[[File:Naga.png|center]]
|[[Naga]]
|
|
|{{t| Weakening blow}}
|
|Ick Swamp, Naga City
|-
|[[File:Rock_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Rock Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Fast regen}}, {{t| Knockback}} 50%
|
|Rock Garden
|-
|[[File:Rusalka.png|center]]
|[[Rusalka]]
|
|
|{{t| Corrosive}}
|
|Havendale Bridge
|-
|[[File:Steel_Golem.png|center]]
|[[Steel Golem]]
|
|
|{{t| Physical resist}} 25%, {{t| Cursed}}
|
|Naga City
|-
|[[File:Shade.png|center]]
|[[Shade]]
|
|
|{{t| Physical resist}} 30%, {{t| Undead}}, {{t| Blinks}}, {{t| Life steal}} 40%
|
|Creeplight Ruins (after killing sacrificial goat), Cursed Oasis
|-
|[[File:Slime_Blob.png|center]]
|[[Slime Blob]]
|
|
|{{t| Cursed}}, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|The Slime Pit
|-
|[[File:Tokoloshe.png|center]]
|[[Tokoloshe]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Physical resist}} 50%; Drops Tokoloshe Charm on death
|
|Havendage Bridge
|-
|[[File:Vampire.png|center]]
|[[Vampire (Monster)|Vampire]]
|
|
|{{t| Life steal}} 40%, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|Ick Swamp, Eastern Tundra (Boss only)
|}

{{MainNav}}

[[Category:Monsters|*]]

File:MonsterRoster.jpg

2013-02-09T22:20:45Z

Sidestepper:

The Life Story of SMASH, worshiper of SMASH, God of SMASH, as told in his own words

2013-01-28T00:49:04Z

Sidestepper:

[[File:SMASH01.jpg]] 
Today is a good day for SMASHING 

[[File:SMASH001.jpg]] 
SMASH, god of SMASH, demands that SMASH go SMASHing 

[[File:SMASH03.jpg]] 
...smash?

[[File:SMASH04.jpg]] 
smash?

[[File:SMASH05.jpg]] 
SMASH SMASH!!

[[File:SMASH06.jpg]] 
oooogg

[[File:SMASH07.jpg]] 
hrmm

[[File:SMASH08.jpg]] 
Ah!

[[File:SMASHSMASH.jpg]] 
More SMASH for the SMASH God!

[[File:SMASH10.jpg]] 
Smash?

[[File:SMASH11.jpg]] 
...

[[File:SMASH12.jpg]] 

== SSSSMMMMMMMAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHH ==

[[File:SMASH13.jpg]] 
SMASH and SMASH

[[File:SMASH14.jpg]] 
SMASH

[[File:SMASH15.jpg]] 
All invited to SMASH's SMASH party mosh pit!

[[File:SMASH16.jpg]] 
SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH ALL TOGETHER NOW

[[File:SMASH17.jpg]] 
smash

[[File:SMASHFIN.jpg]] 
smashed

[[File:SMASH18.jpg]] 
Whatever. Gnomes do it better

[[File:SMASH19.jpg]]

File:SMASH001.jpg

2013-01-28T00:48:51Z

Sidestepper:

The Life Story of SMASH, worshiper of SMASH, God of SMASH, as told in his own words

2013-01-28T00:44:34Z

Sidestepper: Created page with "File:SMASH01.jpg Today is a good day for SMASHING File:SMASH02.jpg SMASH, god of SMASH, demands that SMASH go SMASHing File:SMASH03.jpg ...smash..."

[[File:SMASH01.jpg]] 
Today is a good day for SMASHING 

[[File:SMASH02.jpg]] 
SMASH, god of SMASH, demands that SMASH go SMASHing 

[[File:SMASH03.jpg]] 
...smash?

[[File:SMASH04.jpg]] 
smash?

[[File:SMASH05.jpg]] 
SMASH SMASH!!

[[File:SMASH06.jpg]] 
oooogg

[[File:SMASH07.jpg]] 
hrmm

[[File:SMASH08.jpg]] 
Ah!

[[File:SMASHSMASH.jpg]] 
More SMASH for the SMASH God!

[[File:SMASH10.jpg]] 
Smash?

[[File:SMASH11.jpg]] 
...

[[File:SMASH12.jpg]] 

== SSSSMMMMMMMAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHH ==

[[File:SMASH13.jpg]] 
SMASH and SMASH

[[File:SMASH14.jpg]] 
SMASH

[[File:SMASH15.jpg]] 
All invited to SMASH's SMASH party mosh pit!

[[File:SMASH16.jpg]] 
SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH ALL TOGETHER NOW

[[File:SMASH17.jpg]] 
smash

[[File:SMASHFIN.jpg]] 
smashed

[[File:SMASH18.jpg]] 
Whatever. Gnomes do it better

[[File:SMASH19.jpg]]

File:SMASH19.jpg

2013-01-28T00:44:20Z

Sidestepper:

File:SMASH17.jpg

2013-01-28T00:40:46Z

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File:SMASHSMASH.jpg

2013-01-28T00:34:01Z

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File:SMASH08.jpg

2013-01-28T00:27:24Z

Sidestepper:

Annotated Playthroughs

2013-01-28T00:21:40Z

Sidestepper:

==Annotated Playthroughs==

These annotated playthroughs were created and uploaded by fans, and describe successful runs under a variety of conditions.

[[Annotated Playthrough Magma Mines]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Slim Pit Purist]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Rock Garden]]

[[Annotated Gorgon Purist Run]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Demonic Library]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Shifting Passages Purist]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Venture Cave Monk]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Vicious Halls of Steel Sorcerer]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Western Forest]]

[[Annotated Playthrough: Rise of the Dorkling]]

[[The Life Story of SMASH, worshiper of SMASH, God of SMASH, as told in his own words]]

==Anyone Can Win Vicious, by The Avatar==

This mini-series of playthroughs shows basic strategies that can beat vicious dungeons, and strives to show you that you can beat them too, no matter your skill level. Each one explores a vicious dungeon as a human fighter.

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 1: Naga City]]

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 2: Dragon Isles]]

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 3: Namtar's Lair]]

==How does Regenfighting work, by Nurator==

This annotated playthrough describes the power of regenfighting and shows many examples how to use it right

[[Annotated Playthrough: Regenfighting]]

== Forum Thread ==

There is ongoing discussion regarding annotated playthroughs on the forums[http://www.qcfdesign.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1841]

== Deprecated Guides ==

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Vicious Halls of Steel]]

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Dragon Isles]]

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Naga City]]

File:SMASHFIN.jpg

2013-01-28T00:20:17Z

Sidestepper:

File:SMASH18.jpg

2013-01-28T00:20:09Z

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File:SMASH16.jpg

2013-01-28T00:20:00Z

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File:SMASH15.jpg

2013-01-28T00:19:49Z

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File:SMASH14.jpg

2013-01-28T00:19:38Z

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File:SMASH13.jpg

2013-01-28T00:19:27Z

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File:SMASH12.jpg

2013-01-28T00:19:16Z

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File:SMASH11.jpg

2013-01-28T00:19:07Z

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File:SMASH10.jpg

2013-01-28T00:18:58Z

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File:SMASH09.jpg

2013-01-28T00:18:45Z

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File:SMASH07.jpg

2013-01-28T00:18:35Z

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File:SMASH06.jpg

2013-01-28T00:18:25Z

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File:SMASH05.jpg

2013-01-28T00:18:16Z

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File:SMASH04.jpg

2013-01-28T00:18:00Z

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File:SMASH03.jpg

2013-01-28T00:17:50Z

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File:SMASH02.jpg

2013-01-28T00:17:39Z

Sidestepper:

File:SMASH01.jpg

2013-01-28T00:17:23Z

Sidestepper:

Annotated Playthrough: Rise of the Dorkling

2013-01-23T18:25:44Z

Sidestepper:

The Dorkling is what happens when stick a Halfling, a Trisword, an Alchemist's Scroll, and a lot of gold into a bag and shake vigorously. For 80 conversion points, a Dorkling gets a Health Potion, +2 base attack, and +8 max health. The name comes from the fact that this character effectively has the racial traits of a dwarf, an orc, and a halfling, all at once.

Making a Dorkling requires a perfect storm of a prepped Trisword or Alchemist Scroll, the early discovery of the other item, and a substantial amount of starting gold. It is very rare to see this in natural play. If you have your heart set on doing this, you're going to have to scum. What follows is a just for laughs playthrough of a scummed Dorkling run.

For a dedicated Dorkling run, I recommend a Thief. Besides the obvious synergy between Halfling potions and the Survivor trait, the Thief also provides extra gold to keep the combo going and extra shops so that you have to scum less to get the combo in the first place.

The best place to run a Dorkling is probably the Demonic Library. The five mini-bosses provide you with lots of gold right at the point where your starting cash begins to run out. It's also a VICIOUS dungeon, which I find desirable when using such an over the top strategy. It's no fun using a howitzer to hunt rabbits.

In this run I eschewed all gods. I wanted this to be about Dorkling abuse, not divine hijinks.

[[File:DorkingRise1.jpg]] 
Locker: Trisword or Alchemist Scroll (essential) 
Thief: Black Market (almost essential) 
Church: None, but Extra Altar is always nice 
Mage: Extra Attack (highly recommended) 
Blacksmith: Shield (essential) 
Bazaar: Elite or Quest (depends on which item you had in your locker) 
Alchemist: Transmutation (essential) use this on the Shield to get your initial funding 
Potions: Whatever, but Quicksilver and Strength are a good starting kit 

[[File:DorkingRise2.jpg]] 
Ah, finally! After spending over a thousand gold on restarts, I can get down to business. Don't worry, I got that gold by shamelessly hacking my game, so it's all good.

[[File:DorkingRise3.jpg]] 
I got a little excited and forgot to take pictures for a while. Such is the intoxicating power of the Dorkling. I used Quicksilver + Strength to kill that Steel Golem-3, and then took out the Doom Armor-4 by using up a health potion. IMAWAL gave me a nice bit of bonus xp for both kills. Remember, you WANT to use a potion at least once per level, so don't hold back. Just try to avoid using too many potions on any one level. Your scroll only works once per ding.

[[File:DorkingRise4.jpg]] 
With all of my Dorkling advantages, I want to always be fighting at least two levels higher than myself. After a bit of thought, I realize that I can hit the Djinn, drink a Health potion, hit him again, and then Cydstep.

[[File:DorkingRise5.jpg]] 
I screwed up here. I after killing the Djinn, I picked off an Imp-6 and ended up leveling without drinking a potion. This small loss of health will end up being an irritating thorn for the rest of the game. Determined to not make the same mistake twice, plan on killing this Djinn using an attack/potion/attack/Cydstep combo.

[[File:DorkingRise6.jpg]] 
It's time to start thinking about taking on the Demonlords. With IMAWAL active, I can double Fireball that Demonlord to the south, attack/potion/attack-kill the Thrall, Cydstep into the Demonlord, and be one xp short of a ding. I'm irritated because I've already used a potion this level and if I had those 8 health I missed out on from before, I could have held off on the second potion. It's not a huge deal, I still get the Trisword bonus, but it's annoying.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (3).jpg]] 
I can easily finish the Demonlord by dinging off of a popcorn monster. He poisons me with his parting shot, but that is of little consequence to a Halfling. The gold he drops guarantees smooth sailing from here on out. From here on, I want to dedicate my resources to killing Demonlords whenever possible.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (4).jpg]] 
I choose to go after this guy next. Retaliate: Fireball isn't a dangerous trait against a Dorkling, but it is probably the most irritating trait when coupled with death protections. I should kill him now before he becomes a problem. I can take him down by attacking/Cystepping and then cleaning up popcorn. I have 12 mana that I can't spend on the Demonlord. I debate whether to spend those on a Succubus-8 or another Demonlord. I end up choosing to Fireball the Demonlord on the right, the one with Manaburn and Deathgaze.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (5).jpg]] 
Like this.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (6).jpg]] 
It was a mistake. I can't quite finish the second Demonlord. I should have invested those fireballs into the Succubus instead.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (8).jpg]] 
So I explore a bit and then take him out. I'm strong enough now that I don't need mid-level tricks to win these fights, so long as I get to start at full resources.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (9).jpg]] 
Case in point. Notice that I have so much gold now that I've even bought a pair of elven boots.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (10).jpg]] 
I finally find the last Demonlord. This is the worst one for my character, but I'm not afraid. I've been saving that BLUDTOPOWA glyph in anticipation of meeting this guy. With my huge health pool and dual-natured potions can roast this guy. I could do it without BLUDTOPOWA, but this is just cooler. I have to convert the Alchemist Scroll to make room, but it's worth it. The fun thing about Thieves is that they can change their play style at the drop of a hat.

[[File:DorkingRise7.jpg]] 
After cleaning up the surface a bit, I head down to face the Avatar. I didn't document the fight, but after remembering that the Avatar has 75% magic resistance, I converted BLUDTOPOWA, spend all of my gold on conversion junk, and went back down with a stack of health potions. Not that I needed them. Just look at this girl.

Annotated Playthrough: Rise of the Dorkling

2013-01-23T18:04:06Z

Sidestepper: Created page with "The Dorkling is what happens when stick a Halfling, a Trisword, an Alchemist's Scroll, and a lot of gold into a bag and shake vigorously. For 80 conversion points, a Dorkling ge..."

The Dorkling is what happens when stick a Halfling, a Trisword, an Alchemist's Scroll, and a lot of gold into a bag and shake vigorously. For 80 conversion points, a Dorkling gets a Health Potion, +2 base attack, and +8 max health. The name comes from the fact that this character effectively has the racial traits of a dwarf, an orc, and a halfling, all at once.

Making a Dorkling requires a perfect storm of a prepped Trisword or Alchemist Scroll, the early discovery of the other item, and a substantial amount of starting gold. It is very rare to see this in natural play. If you have your heart set on doing this, you're going to have to scum. What follows is a just for laughs playthrough of a scummed Dorkling run.

For a dedicated Dorkling run, I recommend a Thief. Besides the obvious synergy between Halfling potions and the Survivor trait, the Thief also provides extra gold to keep the combo going and extra shops so that you have to scum less to get the combo in the first place.

The best place to run a Dorkling is probably the Demonic Library. The five mini-bosses provide you with lots of gold right at the point where your starting cash begins to run out. It's also a VICIOUS dungeon, which I find desirable when using such an over the top strategy. It's no fun using a howitzer to hunt rabbits.

In this run I eschewed all gods. I wanted this to be about Dorkling abuse, not divine hijinks.

[[File:DorkingRise1.jpg]] 
Locker: Trisword or Alchemist Scroll (essential) 
Thief: Black Market (almost essential) 
Church: None, but Extra Altar is always nice 
Mage: Extra Attack (highly recommended) 
Blacksmith: Shield (essential) 
Bazaar: Elite or Quest (depends on which item you had in your locker) 
Alchemist: Transmutation (essential) 
Potions: Whatever, but Quicksilver and Strength are a good starting kit 

[[File:DorkingRise2.jpg]] 
Ah, finally! After spending over a thousand gold on restarts, I can get down to business. Don't worry, I got that gold by shamelessly hacking my game, so it's all good.

[[File:DorkingRise3.jpg]] 
I got a little excited and forgot to take pictures for a while. Such is the intoxicating power of the Dorkling. I used Quicksilver + Strength to kill that Steel Golem-3, and then took out the Doom Armor-4 by using up a health potion. IMAWAL gave me a nice bit of bonus xp for both kills. Remember, you WANT to use a potion at least once per level, so don't hold back. Just try to avoid using too many potions on any one level. Your scroll only works once per ding.

[[File:DorkingRise4.jpg]] 
With all of my Dorkling advantages, I want to always be fighting at least two levels higher than myself. After a bit of thought, I realize that I can hit the Djinn, drink a Health potion, hit him again, and then Cydstep.

[[File:DorkingRise5.jpg]] 
I screwed up here. I after killing the Djinn, I picked off an Imp-6 and ended up leveling without drinking a potion. This small loss of health will end up being an irritating thorn for the rest of the game. Determined to not make the same mistake twice, plan on killing this Djinn using an attack/potion/attack/Cydstep combo.

[[File:DorkingRise6.jpg]] 
It's time to start thinking about taking on the Demonlords. With IMAWAL active, I can double Fireball that Demonlord to the south, attack/potion/attack-kill the Thrall, Cydstep into the Demonlord, and be one xp short of a ding. I'm irritated because I've already used a potion this level and if I had those 8 health I missed out on from before, I could have held off on the second potion. It's not a huge deal, I still get the Trisword bonus, but it's annoying.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (3).jpg]] 
I can easily finish the Demonlord by dinging off of a popcorn monster. He poisons me with his parting shot, but that is of little consequence to a Halfling. The gold he drops guarantees smooth sailing from here on out. From here on, I want to dedicate my resources to killing Demonlords whenever possible.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (4).jpg]] 
I choose to go after this guy next. Retaliate: Fireball isn't a dangerous trait against a Dorkling, but it is probably the most irritating trait when coupled with death protections. I should kill him now before he becomes a problem. I can take him down by attacking/Cystepping and then cleaning up popcorn. I have 12 mana that I can't spend on the Demonlord. I debate whether to spend those on a Succubus-8 or another Demonlord. I end up choosing to Fireball the Demonlord on the right, the one with Manaburn and Deathgaze.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (5).jpg]] 
Like this.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (6).jpg]] 
It was a mistake. I can't quite finish the second Demonlord. I should have invested those fireballs into the Succubus instead.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (8).jpg]] 
So I explore a bit and then take him out. I'm strong enough now that I don't need mid-level tricks to win these fights, so long as I get to start at full resources.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (9).jpg]] 
Case in point. Notice that I have so much gold now that I've even bought a pair of elven boots.

[[File:DorkingRise7 - Copy (10).jpg]] 
I finally find the last Demonlord. This is the worst one for my character, but I'm not afraid. I've been saving that BLUDTOPOWA glyph in anticipation of meeting this guy. With my huge health pool and dual-natured potions can roast this guy. I could do it without BLUDTOPOWA, but this is just cooler. I have to convert the Alchemist Scroll to make room, but it's worth it. The fun thing about Thieves is that they can change their play style at the drop of a hat.

[[File:DorkingRise7.jpg]] 
After cleaning up the surface a bit, I head down to face the Avatar. I didn't document the fight, but after remembering that the Avatar has 75% magic resistance, I converted BLUDTOPOWA, spend all of my gold on conversion junk, and went back down with a stack of health potions. Not that I needed them. Just look at this girl.

Annotated Playthroughs

2013-01-23T17:07:02Z

Sidestepper:

==Annotated Playthroughs==

These annotated playthroughs were created and uploaded by fans, and describe successful runs under a variety of conditions.

[[Annotated Playthrough Magma Mines]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Slim Pit Purist]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Rock Garden]]

[[Annotated Gorgon Purist Run]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Demonic Library]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Shifting Passages Purist]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Venture Cave Monk]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Vicious Halls of Steel Sorcerer]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Western Forest]]

[[Annotated Playthrough: Rise of the Dorkling]]

==Anyone Can Win Vicious, by The Avatar==

This mini-series of playthroughs shows basic strategies that can beat vicious dungeons, and strives to show you that you can beat them too, no matter your skill level. Each one explores a vicious dungeon as a human fighter.

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 1: Naga City]]

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 2: Dragon Isles]]

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 3: Namtar's Lair]]

==How does Regenfighting work, by Nurator==

This annotated playthrough describes the power of regenfighting and shows many examples how to use it right

[[Annotated Playthrough: Regenfighting]]

== Forum Thread ==

There is ongoing discussion regarding annotated playthroughs on the forums[http://www.qcfdesign.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1841]

== Deprecated Guides ==

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Vicious Halls of Steel]]

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Dragon Isles]]

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Naga City]]

Annotated Playthroughs

2013-01-23T17:06:50Z

Sidestepper:

==Annotated Playthroughs==

These annotated playthroughs were created and uploaded by fans, and describe successful runs under a variety of conditions.

[[Annotated Playthrough Magma Mines]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Slim Pit Purist]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Rock Garden]]

[[Annotated Gorgon Purist Run]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Demonic Library]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Shifting Passages Purist]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Venture Cave Monk]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Vicious Halls of Steel Sorcerer]]

[[Annotated Playthrough Western Forest]]

[[Annotated Playthrough: Rise of the Dorking]]

==Anyone Can Win Vicious, by The Avatar==

This mini-series of playthroughs shows basic strategies that can beat vicious dungeons, and strives to show you that you can beat them too, no matter your skill level. Each one explores a vicious dungeon as a human fighter.

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 1: Naga City]]

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 2: Dragon Isles]]

[[Anyone Can Win Vicious Part 3: Namtar's Lair]]

==How does Regenfighting work, by Nurator==

This annotated playthrough describes the power of regenfighting and shows many examples how to use it right

[[Annotated Playthrough: Regenfighting]]

== Forum Thread ==

There is ongoing discussion regarding annotated playthroughs on the forums[http://www.qcfdesign.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1841]

== Deprecated Guides ==

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Vicious Halls of Steel]]

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Dragon Isles]]

As of 49b [[Annotated Playthrough Naga City]]

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Monsters

2012-10-30T05:42:48Z

Sidestepper:

{{Alphapage|Alpha:Monsters}}{{Stub}}

There are many different monster types you will encounter throughout Desktop Dungeons. They have a range of abilities and stats, and each present a unique difficulty to the player. There are two formulas to determine the base stats for every monster. For hp, you use (n+3)²+10, where n is the monsters level, and for attack you use (n*(n+5))/2, where n is the monsters level. Monsters also have an attack and hp percent value. That indicates what percent of the base number provided below they have. For example, Bandits have 100% hp and 66% attack. Therefore a level 3 Bandit would do 8 damage and have 26 hp.
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
!Level
!Base Attack
!Base Health
|-
| 1 || 3 || 6
|-
| 2 || 7 || 15
|-
| 3 || 12 || 26
|-
| 4 || 18 || 39
|-
| 5 || 25 || 54
|-
| 6 || 33 || 71
|-
| 7 || 42 || 90
|-
| 8 || 52 || 111
|-
| 9 || 63 || 134
|-
| 10 || 75 || 159
|}

What kind of dungeon you are in also affects monster stats. Monsters in easy dungeons have 90% of way they would normally have, monsters in Normal dungeons have their normal stats, monsters in hard dungeons have 120% of what they would normally have, and monsters in vicious dungeons have 133% of what they would normally have.

Distribution 
Not counting bosses and special uniques, each dungeon contains 38 monsters, with the following level distribution
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
!Level
!Number
|-
| 1st || 10
|-
| 2nd || 5
|-
| 3rd || 4
|-
| 4th || 4
|-
| 5th || 4
|-
| 6th || 3
|-
| 7th || 3
|-
| 8th || 3
|-
| 9th || 2
|}

== List of Monsters ==

See [[Traits#Monster traits|Traits]] for a full list of traits and what they do. Also see the list of [[Full:Bosses|bosses]].

===Basic Monsters===
Common monsters found in just about any dungeon.
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class="sortable"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
! Name
! Attack
! Health
! Traits
! Location
|-
|{{m | Bandit}}
|70%
|100%
|{{t| Cursed}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Dragon Spawn}}
|100%
|125%
|{{t| Magical Attack}}
|Any
|-
||{{m | Goat}}
|100%
|90%
|{{t| Magic resist}} 25%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Goblin}}
|120%
|100%
|{{t| First Strike}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Golem}}
|100%
|100%
|{{t| Magic resist}} 50%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Goo Blob}}
|100%
|100%
|{{t| Physical resist}} 50%
|Any
|-
||{{m | Gorgon}}
|100%
|90%
|{{t| First Strike}}, {{t|Death-gaze}} 50%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Meat Man}}
|65%
|200%
|
|Any
|-
|{{m | Serpent}}
|100%
|100%
|{{t| Poisonous}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Warlock}}
|135%
|100%
|{{t| Magical Attack}}
|Any
|-
|{{m | Wraith}}
|100%
|75%
|{{t| Undead}}, {{t| Mana Burn}}, {{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t| Physical resist}} 30%
|Any
|-
|{{m | Zombie}}
|100%
|150%
|{{t| Undead}}
|Any
|}

===Advanced Monsters===
Stronger monsters found as you venture further outside the kingdom. This list does not include any variety of {{m|Plant}}.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse;" class="sortable"
|- style="background-color: #EEEEEE"
! Image
! Name
! Attack
! Health
! Traits
! Boss
! Location
|-
|[[File:Acid_Blob.png|center]]
|[[Acid Blob]]
|
|
|{{t| Corrosive}}, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|Naga City, The Slime Pits
|-
|[[File:Animated_Armor.png|center]]
|[[Animated Armor]]
|
|
|{{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t| Death Protection}} (1 layer per level)
|
|Halls of Steel, Cursed Oasis
|-
|[[File:Berserker.png|center]]
|[[Berserker (Monster)|Berserker]]
|
|
|{{t| Berserks}} 50%
|
|Berserker Camp, Wizard Bronze
|-
|[[File:Burn_Viper.png|center]]
|[[Burn Viper]]
|
|
|{{t| Mana Burn}}, {{t| Blinks}}
|
|Berserker Camp, Naga City, Namtar's Lair
|-
|[[File:Blood_Snake.png|center]]
|[[Blood Snake]]
|
|
|{{t| Spawns}}, {{t| Poisonous}}
|
|Bloodmage Bronze
|
|-
|[[File:Cave_Snake.png|center]]
|[[Cave Snake]]
|
|
|{{t| Poisonous}}, {{t | Spawns}}
|
|Magma Mines
|-
|[[File:Changeling.png|center]]
|[[Changeling]]
|
|
|Varies by class
|
|Shifting Passages
|-
|[[File:Cultist.png|center]]
|[[Cultist]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Revives}} (into Zombie)
|
|
|-
|[[File:Desert_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Desert Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Fast regen}}
|
|Northern Desert
|-
|[[File:Djinn.png|center]]
|[[Djinn]]
|
|
|{{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}
|
|
|-
|[[File:Doom_Armor.png|center]]
|[[Doom Armor]]
|
|
|{{t| Berserks}} 50%, {{t| Death Protection}} (1 layer per level)
|
|Demonic Library
|-
|[[File:Druid.png|center]]
|[[Druid]]
|
|
|{{t| Magical Attack}}, {{t| Death Protection}}
|
|Havendale Bridge, Dragon Isle, Western Jungle (Boss only)
|-
|[[File:Forest_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Forest Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Fast regen}}, {{t| Magic resist}} 25%
|
|Dragon Isle
|-
|[[File:Frozen_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Frozen Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Physical resist}} 50%, {{t| Magic resist}} 50%, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|
|-

|[[File:Gelatinous_Thing.png]]
|[[Gelatinous Thing]]
|
|
|{{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}
|
|The Slime Pit
|-
|[[File:Imp.png|center]]
|[[Imp]]
|
|
|{{t| Blinks}}
|
|Demonic Library
|-
|[[File:Illusion.png|center]]
|[[Illusion]]
|
|
|{{t| Physical resist}} 50%, {{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}, {{t| Weakening blow}}
|
|Halls of Steel
|-
|[[File:Minotaur.png|center]]
|[[Minotaur]]
|
|
|{{t| Knockback}} 50%, {{t| Berserks}} 50%
|
|Magma Mines, Shifting Passages, The Labyrinth (Boss only)
|-
|[[File:Muck_Walker.png|center]]
|[[Muck Walker]]
|
|
|{{t| Undead}}, {{t| Weakening blow}}
|
|The Slime Pit
|-
|[[File:Naga.png|center]]
|[[Naga]]
|
|
|{{t| Weakening blow}}
|
|Ick Swamp, Naga City
|-
|[[File:Rock_Troll.png|center]]
|[[Rock Troll]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Fast regen}}, {{t| Knockback}} 50%
|
|Rock Garden
|-
|[[File:Rusalka.png|center]]
|[[Rusalka]]
|
|
|{{t| Corrosive}}
|
|Havendale Bridge
|-
|[[File:Steel_Golem.png|center]]
|[[Steel Golem]]
|
|
|{{t| Physical resist}} 25%, {{t| Cursed}}
|
|Naga City
|-
|[[File:Shade.png|center]]
|[[Shade]]
|
|
|{{t| Physical resist}} 30%, {{t| Undead}}, {{t| Blinks}}, {{t| Life steal}} 40%
|
|Creeplight Ruins (after killing sacrificial goat)
|-
|[[File:Slime_Blob.png|center]]
|[[Slime Blob]]
|
|
|{{t| Cursed}}, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|The Slime Pit
|-
|[[File:Tokoloshe.png|center]]
|[[Tokoloshe]]
|
|
|{{t| Cowardly}}, {{t| Physical resist}} 50%; Drops Tokoloshe Charm on death
|
|Havendage Bridge
|-
|[[File:Vampire.png|center]]
|[[Vampire (Monster)|Vampire]]
|
|
|{{t| Life steal}} 40%, {{t| Magical Attack}}
|
|Ick Swamp, Eastern Tundra (Boss only)
|}

{{MainNav}}

[[Category:Monsters|*]]

Annotated Playthrough Western Forest

2012-10-30T05:30:35Z

Sidestepper:

A simple run in the Western Forest using no preps, potions or boons, converting advanced glyphs and shop purchases, and ignoring the subdungeon. I also don't find the fireball glyph until very late, forcing me to rely on utility glyphs for most of the game. A discussion of this playthrough can be found [http://www.qcfdesign.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1841&start=180#p19484 here].

[[File:WesternForestRun2.jpg]] 
I find ENDIWAL and WONAFYT right away. I also find HELPMEH and APHEELSIK, which would have totally transformed this playthrough, but instead I convert them on sight as per my self-imposed restrictions. I start spamming WONAFYT until I've captured all ten of the level 1 monsters. I also buy a Troll Heart, which gives no immediate leverage but is a nice long term investment and decent conversion fodder. I now have a bit of a quandary. Even with ENDISWAL, I can't handle that Golem-2. I'm really feeling the Fighter's lack of leverage. I can either explore until I find a softer level 2, a stronger source of leverage, or I can just kill two level ones and move on.

For a non-Fighter without WONAFYT, leveling off of level one monsters is a terrible idea. That's five popcorn gone before you even really get started. The Fighter only has to spend two popcorn to get the same effect, so sometimes it's worth it. But I don't want to commit quite yet. I'm looking ahead a few moves. Once I hit 2nd level, I could probably get that Meatman-3, but then what? I'd be midway through the level and have no suitable opponents. Since I'd have to explore to find more targets, I might as well do that exploring now and maybe find better options for my current situation.

[[File:WesternForestRun3.jpg]] 
Hmm. A Bandit-3. Useless to me right now, but once I hit level 2 I could take him and the Meatman-3 to reach 3rd level right away. I even have two level 4 monsters available for the level after that. It's a good set up, but I'm concerned about fighting those Bandits. My main source of leverage right now is ENDISWAL, and killing those Bandits will give me piles of Curse and effectively disable that glyph. In the end, I decide to do it anyway. You don't want to burn all of your blackspace hoping for something perfect when you already have something that will work.

[[File:WesternForestRun4.jpg]] 
I do it. I level off of the Goblin-1 and Gorgon-1 and then kill the Bandit-3, gaining tons of curse in the process. It might look like I can't beat this Meatman without the aid of ENDISWAL, but in truth I can beat him quite easily. I do roughly double his damage while healing at 2/3 of his rate. That means that if we both keep healing and exchanging blows, I will slowly gain ground until I win. This is what we have taken to calling "regen fighting" on the forums.

[[File:WesternForestRun5.jpg]] 
After several passes, I finally reach the critical moment. If I explore exactly three squares (and no more!) I will be able to beat him with one HP to spare. If I screwed up and over explored, it would n't be a disaster, I'd just have to make a few more passes. I'd even win by a bigger margin, but it's obviously better to just win now.

[[File:WesternForestRun6.jpg]] 
Done. I'm now going to commit to being badly cursed and take this Bandit-4. Between my conversions, powerups, and the forgiving Normal monster array, I can take this guy in a straight slugfest.

[[File:WesternForestRun7.jpg]] 
I buy a Fine Sword from the shop and can now just barely take this Wraith-4, which level me up.

[[File:WesternForestRun8.jpg]] 
I haven't been mentioning it, but I've been spamming WONAFYT after every level up. I've captured all of the monsters from level 4 and below by now. That will be handy later.

Right now I'm checking out this Wraith-5. I can beat him, but then I'll be mana burned and still 4 xp away from a ding. Not that I can really use the mana right now, but maybe the Fireball glyph is around the next corner. I'll look for more targets first.

I'm feeling a bit frustrated with my situation. My huge curse stack is cutting me off from ENDISWAL, and the lack of Fireball is really hurting. If I had access to either glyph, I could be fighting level 6s right now. I'm tired of these lousy level+1 fights. I need to be reducing the number of high level monsters!

[[File:WesternForestRun9.jpg]] 
Another Wraith-5. Fine. I'll kill the pair, and that will level me up and clear the mana burn.

[[File:WesternForestRun10.jpg]] 
I'm done accepting lame catfights. After clearing the Wraiths, I only had two curse stacks left. I ate two popcorn monsters and can finally use the Stoneskin effect of ENDISWAL again. That'll be enough leverage to kill this Gorgon-7 and the Goat-7. That's more like it! Finally clearing out the 7+s.

[[File:WesternForestRun11.jpg]] 
Now I'm getting serious. I want that Golem-9. I think I can get him with mid-fight ding. I'm 8 xp away from a level, which is kind of a lot. I could eat 8 xp worth of popcorn, but that is wasteful. Instead, I'll get that Gorgon-6. She makes for lousy popcorn, and she'll put me at exactly one xp below threshold. Note that I did NOT go after the Zombie-7, even though I probably could have taken him. I don't want to level up right now, and I will happily trade away a monster-7 for a monster-9.

[[File:WesternForestRun12.jpg]] 
All set. I did some math and I believe that I will win by 2-3 HPs. That Troll Heart is actually making a difference. I go ahead and convert WONAFYT. There isn't much left to capture and I need to start ramping my damage.

[[File:WesternForestRun14.jpg]] 
I cut him, ding, and cut him again. Look how close it is. I ended up winning by 2 health.

[[File:WesternForestRun15.jpg]] 
While recovering, I find a Goat-9. Perfect. That's both level 9s accounted for.

[[File:WesternForestRun16.jpg]] 
And now I am surveying the situation. I'm one xp below 8th level and have a pile of popcorn availabe, augmented by the effects of WONAFYT and the Fighter learning bonus. This would be a good time to start in on the boss, but I have other plans. There is still a fair amount of blackspace, a monster-7, and three monster-8s out there (you can only see two of the 8s, but I know there's a third one out there). Between the catfighting bonus and the Fighter bonus, that's 37 'hard' xp still available. That's enough to get deep into level 8 and still have enough popcorn to level twice, easily. That's a better deal that being level 7 and having two dings, so I decide to go for it. It doesn't really matter, because I could win either way, but this is about technique and optimization.

Oh also, I found the Fireball. Finally.

[[File:WesternForestRun17.jpg]] 
The Fireballs let me bring this Wraith down easily. I could finish it off right now, but I don't. I have 103 health, and he does 52 damage. That would mean I'd be leveling while still having almost half of my health left. What a waste.

[[File:WesternForestRun18.jpg]] 
Instead, I hit this Dragon-8. I'm now one short of being able to finish the Wraith, which I knew would happen. Why did I do that?

[[File:WesternForestRun19.jpg]] 
Because by exploring one square, I heal enough to finish the Wraith. I level up and cure the damage, but the Dragon stays wounded.

[[File:WesternForestRun20.jpg]] 
I finish the Dragon. While healing, I find that remaining level-8 that I knew was out there. Easy pickings.

[[File:WesternForestRun21.jpg]] 
It's time to win the game. Because the boss can blink I don't want there to be any blackspace left. I use the remaining scraps to regen fight the Zombie-7, softening him up and transforming his 8 xp from 'hard' to 'popcorn.' I also convert the Troll Heart. The conversion is now more important than a few extra HP.

[[File:WesternForestRun22.jpg]] 
I lead in with fireballs, just in case I get forced to cut through a Murkshade plant. After two fireballs and a melee exchange, I'm ready to ding. I decide to level off of this Goblin-6. You want to always level off of the most difficult monster that you have spare resources for.

[[File:WesternForestRun24.jpg]] 
I empty my resources into the Druid again, and then level up again. I'm now level ten and STILL have enough popcorn to level YET AGAIN. This is the power of the Fighter. Of course, I don't need the extra ding, but that's still pretty cool. Notice that all of the high level monsters are gone. It really is all popcorn now.

[[File:WesternForestRun25.jpg]] 
Got him.

[[File:WesternForestRun26.jpg]] 
No potions, no boons, no subdungeon, and barely any magic until the end. Normal is easy once you know what to do.

Annotated Playthrough Western Forest

2012-10-30T05:30:05Z

Sidestepper:

A simple run in the Western Forest using no preps, potions or boons, converting advanced glyphs and shop purchases, and ignoring the subdungeon. I also don't fin the fireball glyph until very late, forcing me to rely on utility glyphs for most of the game. A discussion of this playthrough can be found [http://www.qcfdesign.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1841&start=180#p19484 here].

[[File:WesternForestRun2.jpg]] 
I find ENDIWAL and WONAFYT right away. I also find HELPMEH and APHEELSIK, which would have totally transformed this playthrough, but instead I convert them on sight as per my self-imposed restrictions. I start spamming WONAFYT until I've captured all ten of the level 1 monsters. I also buy a Troll Heart, which gives no immediate leverage but is a nice long term investment and decent conversion fodder. I now have a bit of a quandary. Even with ENDISWAL, I can't handle that Golem-2. I'm really feeling the Fighter's lack of leverage. I can either explore until I find a softer level 2, a stronger source of leverage, or I can just kill two level ones and move on.

For a non-Fighter without WONAFYT, leveling off of level one monsters is a terrible idea. That's five popcorn gone before you even really get started. The Fighter only has to spend two popcorn to get the same effect, so sometimes it's worth it. But I don't want to commit quite yet. I'm looking ahead a few moves. Once I hit 2nd level, I could probably get that Meatman-3, but then what? I'd be midway through the level and have no suitable opponents. Since I'd have to explore to find more targets, I might as well do that exploring now and maybe find better options for my current situation.

[[File:WesternForestRun3.jpg]] 
Hmm. A Bandit-3. Useless to me right now, but once I hit level 2 I could take him and the Meatman-3 to reach 3rd level right away. I even have two level 4 monsters available for the level after that. It's a good set up, but I'm concerned about fighting those Bandits. My main source of leverage right now is ENDISWAL, and killing those Bandits will give me piles of Curse and effectively disable that glyph. In the end, I decide to do it anyway. You don't want to burn all of your blackspace hoping for something perfect when you already have something that will work.

[[File:WesternForestRun4.jpg]] 
I do it. I level off of the Goblin-1 and Gorgon-1 and then kill the Bandit-3, gaining tons of curse in the process. It might look like I can't beat this Meatman without the aid of ENDISWAL, but in truth I can beat him quite easily. I do roughly double his damage while healing at 2/3 of his rate. That means that if we both keep healing and exchanging blows, I will slowly gain ground until I win. This is what we have taken to calling "regen fighting" on the forums.

[[File:WesternForestRun5.jpg]] 
After several passes, I finally reach the critical moment. If I explore exactly three squares (and no more!) I will be able to beat him with one HP to spare. If I screwed up and over explored, it would n't be a disaster, I'd just have to make a few more passes. I'd even win by a bigger margin, but it's obviously better to just win now.

[[File:WesternForestRun6.jpg]] 
Done. I'm now going to commit to being badly cursed and take this Bandit-4. Between my conversions, powerups, and the forgiving Normal monster array, I can take this guy in a straight slugfest.

[[File:WesternForestRun7.jpg]] 
I buy a Fine Sword from the shop and can now just barely take this Wraith-4, which level me up.

[[File:WesternForestRun8.jpg]] 
I haven't been mentioning it, but I've been spamming WONAFYT after every level up. I've captured all of the monsters from level 4 and below by now. That will be handy later.

Right now I'm checking out this Wraith-5. I can beat him, but then I'll be mana burned and still 4 xp away from a ding. Not that I can really use the mana right now, but maybe the Fireball glyph is around the next corner. I'll look for more targets first.

I'm feeling a bit frustrated with my situation. My huge curse stack is cutting me off from ENDISWAL, and the lack of Fireball is really hurting. If I had access to either glyph, I could be fighting level 6s right now. I'm tired of these lousy level+1 fights. I need to be reducing the number of high level monsters!

[[File:WesternForestRun9.jpg]] 
Another Wraith-5. Fine. I'll kill the pair, and that will level me up and clear the mana burn.

[[File:WesternForestRun10.jpg]] 
I'm done accepting lame catfights. After clearing the Wraiths, I only had two curse stacks left. I ate two popcorn monsters and can finally use the Stoneskin effect of ENDISWAL again. That'll be enough leverage to kill this Gorgon-7 and the Goat-7. That's more like it! Finally clearing out the 7+s.

[[File:WesternForestRun11.jpg]] 
Now I'm getting serious. I want that Golem-9. I think I can get him with mid-fight ding. I'm 8 xp away from a level, which is kind of a lot. I could eat 8 xp worth of popcorn, but that is wasteful. Instead, I'll get that Gorgon-6. She makes for lousy popcorn, and she'll put me at exactly one xp below threshold. Note that I did NOT go after the Zombie-7, even though I probably could have taken him. I don't want to level up right now, and I will happily trade away a monster-7 for a monster-9.

[[File:WesternForestRun12.jpg]] 
All set. I did some math and I believe that I will win by 2-3 HPs. That Troll Heart is actually making a difference. I go ahead and convert WONAFYT. There isn't much left to capture and I need to start ramping my damage.

[[File:WesternForestRun14.jpg]] 
I cut him, ding, and cut him again. Look how close it is. I ended up winning by 2 health.

[[File:WesternForestRun15.jpg]] 
While recovering, I find a Goat-9. Perfect. That's both level 9s accounted for.

[[File:WesternForestRun16.jpg]] 
And now I am surveying the situation. I'm one xp below 8th level and have a pile of popcorn availabe, augmented by the effects of WONAFYT and the Fighter learning bonus. This would be a good time to start in on the boss, but I have other plans. There is still a fair amount of blackspace, a monster-7, and three monster-8s out there (you can only see two of the 8s, but I know there's a third one out there). Between the catfighting bonus and the Fighter bonus, that's 37 'hard' xp still available. That's enough to get deep into level 8 and still have enough popcorn to level twice, easily. That's a better deal that being level 7 and having two dings, so I decide to go for it. It doesn't really matter, because I could win either way, but this is about technique and optimization.

Oh also, I found the Fireball. Finally.

[[File:WesternForestRun17.jpg]] 
The Fireballs let me bring this Wraith down easily. I could finish it off right now, but I don't. I have 103 health, and he does 52 damage. That would mean I'd be leveling while still having almost half of my health left. What a waste.

[[File:WesternForestRun18.jpg]] 
Instead, I hit this Dragon-8. I'm now one short of being able to finish the Wraith, which I knew would happen. Why did I do that?

[[File:WesternForestRun19.jpg]] 
Because by exploring one square, I heal enough to finish the Wraith. I level up and cure the damage, but the Dragon stays wounded.

[[File:WesternForestRun20.jpg]] 
I finish the Dragon. While healing, I find that remaining level-8 that I knew was out there. Easy pickings.

[[File:WesternForestRun21.jpg]] 
It's time to win the game. Because the boss can blink I don't want there to be any blackspace left. I use the remaining scraps to regen fight the Zombie-7, softening him up and transforming his 8 xp from 'hard' to 'popcorn.' I also convert the Troll Heart. The conversion is now more important than a few extra HP.

[[File:WesternForestRun22.jpg]] 
I lead in with fireballs, just in case I get forced to cut through a Murkshade plant. After two fireballs and a melee exchange, I'm ready to ding. I decide to level off of this Goblin-6. You want to always level off of the most difficult monster that you have spare resources for.

[[File:WesternForestRun24.jpg]] 
I empty my resources into the Druid again, and then level up again. I'm now level ten and STILL have enough popcorn to level YET AGAIN. This is the power of the Fighter. Of course, I don't need the extra ding, but that's still pretty cool. Notice that all of the high level monsters are gone. It really is all popcorn now.

[[File:WesternForestRun25.jpg]] 
Got him.

[[File:WesternForestRun26.jpg]]
No potions, no boons, no subdungeon, and barely any magic until the end. Normal is easy once you know what to do.

File:WesternForestRun27.jpg

2012-10-30T05:29:38Z

Sidestepper: